(a) The general assembly finds that:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 49-6-5102

  • sex: means a person's immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth and evidence of a person's biological sex. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) Teachers and employees of public schools and LEAs do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression while at work;
(2) Protecting the right to free speech for teachers and employees of public schools and LEAs promotes important state interests;
(3) The use of pronouns by teachers and employees of public schools and LEAs in an educational setting is a matter of free speech or expression; and
(4) A teacher or employee of a public school or LEA should never be compelled to affirm a belief with which the teacher or employee disagrees.
(b) A teacher or other employee of a public school or LEA is not:

(1) Required to use a student’s preferred pronoun when referring to the student if the preferred pronoun is not consistent with the student’s biological sex;
(2) Civilly liable for using a pronoun that is consistent with the biological sex of the student to whom the teacher or employee is referring, even if the pronoun is not the student’s preferred pronoun; and
(3) Subject to an adverse employment action for not using a student’s preferred pronoun, if the student’s preferred pronoun is inconsistent with the student’s biological sex.
(c) A public school or LEA is not civilly liable if a teacher or employee of the public school or LEA refers to a student using a pronoun that is consistent with the biological sex of the student to whom the teacher or employee is referring, even if the pronoun is not the student’s preferred pronoun.
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